New Caprice - Discussion forums

nmargrave wrote: ↑Thu Dec 24, 2020 5:03 am Nice work keep it up.

Thanks!

As usual, nice work! I hope to never have to refer to it, though.

I have a playlist on my YouTube channel with all of my Chevy Caprice PPV related videos. There are currently 31 videos in that playlist.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vjw8Zdq ... 2QPQfkaIXw

I watched damn near all of them

BTW
Thank you VERY MUCH for the rear door Videos.
I followed your video and got my rear door locks working.

Not really a Caprice specific video, but I've been working with Pittasoft (makers of the BlackVue dash cameras) over the past 1.5 years reviewing their dash cameras and battery packs.

I reviewed a BlackVue DR750-2CH LTE camera and I installed it in my 2014 Caprice. That camera's LTE connectivity didn't work out very well for where I live.

Pittasoft sent me one of their BlackVue DR900X-2CH (front camera 4K UHD / rear camera 1080p) dash cameras along with their BlackVue CM100LTE connectivity module for the "X' series cameras to allow the camera to connect to their BlackVue Cloud service. Using the BlackVue Cloud service, you can remotely initiate live views of the cameras, get push notifications to your phone when incidents occur and it can be configured to auto upload videos to the BlackVue Cloud service when the cameras detect impacts or motion based incidents while in parking mode.

I just complete the install of the DR900X-2CH / CM100LTE products in my 2014 Caprice. The battery pack I have for the dash cameras in this car is located in the trunk so the fun of running the power wires and video cable is also great fun (not).

I decided to create a YouTube Shorts (less then 60 seconds in vertical format) video as a teaser to my full review video that I'm working on for these products.

https://youtu.be/6ubadnbuxNU

You must not have the police secondary battery in your car, the thought came to mind about using one of the police power feeds in the upfitting wiring, that would simplify your wiring issues probably if that stuff was still there. I've got the wiring and everything in back, but no secondary battery installed. My 2011 had the secondary battery being a GM fleet demo, I used it to run a Whelen Alpha-series amp set to airhorn only.

I've got two Blackvue DR450's BTW, was getting ready to install one later this weekend in my Caprice. Good cameras.

Eric

elc32955 wrote: ↑Sat May 01, 2021 3:12 pm You must not have the police secondary battery in your car, the thought came to mind about using one of the police power feeds in the upfitting wiring, that would simplify your wiring issues probably if that stuff was still there. I've got the wiring and everything in back, but no secondary battery installed. My 2011 had the secondary battery being a GM fleet demo, I used it to run a Whelen Alpha-series amp set to airhorn only.

I've got two Blackvue DR450's BTW, was getting ready to install one later this weekend in my Caprice. Good cameras.

Eric

My 2014 Caprice did come with the Aux battery feature installed, but the battery was totally dead and I didn't see any advantage in keeping it in the car. Most of the upfitter wiring had been badly cut/torn out of the car along with the body paint being destroyed in areas where they used metal tools to remove decals/stickers.

I did have a DR900S-2CH along with a B-124X dash cam battery pack supplied by Pittasoft, but I donated that to a friend of mine that has a Pontiac G8 for his birthday since he really wanted/needed a dash camera.

I still have a Cellink B battery pack in the Caprice in the trunk strapped to the bottom side of the rear deck area. I'm using a relay (with inline fuse) to supply the charging power to the Cellink B battery pack using a fuse tap in one of the only switched/accessory fuse sockets in the rear fuse box to be the on/off control circuit power for the relay. For now, I created a Y-splitter to allow both the BlackVue DR900X-2CH and my original Thinkware F800 Pro cameras to get power from the Cellink B battery pack.

I tried to "future proof" my dash cam power wiring efforts this time. I needed to add about 6 feet to the BlackVue 3-wire hardwire cable to make the full path from the front windshield, down the A-pillars, along the door sill bottoms, up the driver side rear seat area and then into the trunk. I purchased the Molex connectors and terminals to connect the wires to the Cellink B and then I used the same Molex connectors to add the 6 foot extension. In the front, I cut into the cable to add an On/Off switch since the BlackVue cameras have no way to power down the cameras other than pulling the plug from the front camera. This way, whatever the power connector is to connect to any other camera in the future, I simply need to cut off the front section and add the Molex connector to the end and plug it right into the existing wiring I have in place now.

Not 100 percent Caprice related, but I completed my review of the BlackVue DR900X-2CH dash camera along with the BlackVue Cloud CM100LTE 4G LTE connectivity module for North America.

I ended up modifying the front dome light panel to include a DPST switch to allow me to turn off the BlackVue camera when parked at home. So, I guess you can call that a Caprice mod!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1daVFFR ... xgtVPrCgt2

If you are looking for an inexpensive scan tool that lets you scan all the modules in your car and has bi-directional capabilities, then the Thinkcar ThinkDiag scan tool might just be for you.

I walk you through the various options to purchase the device, what the software subscriptions are for this product and I show you a few examples of the ThinkDiag performing some bi-directional testing of two of my cars.

https://youtu.be/ZeqT8yVSaJc

I'm currently investigating a couple of issues with this tool:

• Android phone used with ThinkDiag device does display an error when first starting one of the ThinkDiag software modules when retrieving info from the Caprice (very rare):
  • Seems to only occur when starting one of the software modules when it first interacts with the Caprice (VIN retrieval).
  • If you attempt the exact same thing after the error occurred, it will always succeed and you never see the error while in the diagnostic module, maintenance module or their OBD-II software module.

The ThinkDiag GM/BUICK/CADILLAC/CHEVROLET diagnostic module can scan and work with all of the various subsystems in the Chevy Caprice PPV.

In the video, I use the ThinkDiag to test the 2014 Caprice cooling fans by having the engine control module turn on the radiator cooling fans and run them through various speed selections. I also use the ThinkDiag to configure the HVAC Control Module to adjust the "Afterblow" feature. Off camera, I was also able to execute the "Brake Pedal Position Learn" function which I need after programming the BCM.

Interesting tool option. The subscription model is not my personal favourite but it can be a good option instead of a high dollar tool.

One question, does it have the capability to program the software on modules? For example, if I replace a module, can it be used as a passthrough for ACDelco TDS?